Forgiveness

One last time

(Author's note: Hi everybody. I realize This is a bit of a regime change with this being a one-shot. Please bare in mind that this was an essay for school and I was only allowed a certain number of words. This is what I thought would have happened if the movie's ending had not been so sweet. Please follow/favorite and reviews are always welcome.)

Anger is a punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake.
Author unknown

The sound of howling drew closer as Copper shrunk the gap between him and a friend he had done wrong. The painful images of his broken body remained etched in his memory, the thought of how it had happened as fresh as the spring tide flowing down the waterfall which a young soul had just plunged.

Copper's adopted father had been hit by a train, causing the tan Bloodhound to swear revenge. However, now that the revenge had been committed, his mind had become overthrown with guilt. He was the only one who could ask for forgiveness.

Once he had reached the bottom of the cliff, the sight of Tod's lifeless body was resting in the shallow banks of the pool. His once beautiful orange and white fur was tattered and tarnished, with a large crimson soaked area serving as a tale, showing the severity of his injury to the forest around them. His once bushy tail now seemed nothing more than a thin rope of red.

"Tod, you," was all Copper could manage to say before being startled by an own landing above him. Big Mama had been watching over the young fox for the last few days.

"Hey! Haven't you done enough damage already? Are you here to finish what you started?!" Big Mama asked as she fixed her eyes on the hound below her. She had seen almost everything that had unfolded, yet she remained skeptical. She had seen the two sneak off into the wood to play with one another during their adolescents, giving little to no regard for each other's role in the world.

"I'm truly sorry, I mean him no harm," the Bloodhound said. His once smooth voice had become riddled with unwelcoming irritation by the sleepless nights spent sobbing and whimpering, unable to free himself as a wave of guilt washed over him, flooding his body and leaving nothing but misery in its wake.

Tod started to awaken. The deep yet strained voice brought him to open his eyes and find its source. "How could you possibly harm him anymore? You have already signed his death warrant." Big Mama's blunt remark was the one thing Copper was dreading the most.

"Please, all I ask is to be forgiven," Copper said as his bloodshot eyes began to fill with tears.

This was the final straw. Just as Big Mama was about to finish off and chase him away, a soft, hoarse voice called out. The voice was barely recognized, yet it had become the most important.

"Copper," Tod called out. His eyes remained open long enough for him to realize that his friend was right in front of him.

He had to do this, even if it was his last words. "I forgive you," the fox said as he took his final breath and shut his eyes for the final time.